Paradoxes of Causality Pt3

Posted on Sun Oct 29th, 2023 @ 9:19pm by Commodore Finchley Kerr & Lieutenant Commander Kevin Kilbane & Commander Shr'Nesh Karadis & Captain Yadira Tristen & Lieutenant Commander Jaal Jaxom & Lieutenant Kell Asaa Dr & Lieutenant T'Lira Sh'Karra & Lieutenant Commander Isabelle Savette
Edited on on Sun Oct 29th, 2023 @ 9:27pm

2,136 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Investigate the Chintoka Shipyard Buildup
Location: Cardassian Time Ship.
Timeline: Current.

She touched her throat, activating the voicebox she had placed when they first adopted their disguises. She knew her Cardassian would never pass the up-close smell test and had planned accordingly. The mechanical vibration issued forth as she shaped the sounds. The crewmen were taken aback but otherwise held their tongue as she spoke.

"The Gul and his crew above are trying to steal the ship, which I couldn't care less about, but we all know there is a valuable secret here that can't be lost. Fortunately they are clueless about this, their goal seems to be the Founder," whereupon she paused and turned her gaze to the now silent Gul, sequestered in his own cell.

"Which someone was so kind as to preload into the nav station!" The volume in her voicebox remained absolutely steady, without inflection, but she managed to convey her own displeasure at such incompetence. Touching the forcefield button on the Gul's cell, she adjusted the parameters and fired her weapon, having matched harmonics and the energy pulsed right through. The now, really silent, Gul, slammed against the back of his cell. That should have been loud enough, and squishy enough to suggest she'd just eliminated the shortage in intelligence, even though she knew the Gul was just out... and maybe with some minor injuries.

As she looked back at the two in the cell beside it that she'd been more or less addressing, casually glancing at the next cell, trying to affect an almost bored stance. "We can't open the cells without them seeing it on the bridge. But we know something they don't... the approach credentials required to keep from being obliterated upon approach to the Founder's location." Kell wasn't exactly sure if they were meeting a ship in space, or going to a land-side rendezvous, so she kept it non-specific. Cardassians were nothing if not a bunch of paranoid bastards.

"But only the Gul knew that..." He left the current condition of the captain unsaid. "And what's wrong with your voice?"

Kell rolled her eyes... actually rolled her eyes... She touched the box again, "Injury on Disus Prime... Too much radiation damage unhealed for too long, and I don't yet have the honor of regenerative benefits."

One of the men in the side cells looked at her closer, almost whispering, "She's one of the 6-T..."

Kell whipped the hand weapon up and over, focusing her aim on this individual. "DOWN! On the floor!"

Affecting a disgusted expression she fiddled with her weapon and looked back at the man on the floor. She tried her best to put on an evil smile and touched her throat again. "You're really not gonna like this..." If this guy was who she thought he was, this should work. She pointed at him and acted like she pulled the trigger. The man flipped over, alternated between gagging and a muted scream for several seconds. As soon as she saw his gaze come back across her she stopped and his body ceased its ragged seizure.

She moved the weapon's aim to his cell companion. "Did you hear him say anything?"

Obviously, anyone on this project wasn't entirely slow and this crewman shook her head. "No Glinn. He just mumbles, no one can understand him!"

She acted like she was examining readouts on the control board, and, satisfied her 'weapon discharge' had yet to cause any alarm, she returned her gaze to the crewmen.

"Since the Gul is no longer with us, who will be the one to tell me the protocol for the approach when we reach the Founder? We will present the ship to the Founder, along with these invaders who so mistakenly have taken the wrong ship!"

They shook their heads and Kell did her best to read their body language. On a whim, since that didn't really give her any edge, she noticed only one was enlisted. "You, Gorr... what's the protocol!"

His eyes widened. "Me? I don't know things like that. I'm just a Gorr."

Kell pointed the weapon at him. "Ah, but you have access to everything. The officers, they just know their own piece of the puzzle, but you, you're the one they all call to work on the gear, fix the problems, and they'll say things while barely acknowledging your existence... at least until you do something wrong... or not... and they need someone to punish.. eh?"

The Gorr didn't refute this, and even looked a little vindicated. Kell took a breath and raised her eyebrows, as if she were waiting... And idly motioned her weapon back in his general direction.

He hesitated a moment, emotions playing across his face, then related the steps they would need to follow. The crewman in his cell started for him and Kell tapped the board as she pulled her trigger, slamming said crewman into the wall as the barrier was restored.

She reached across the board and tapped the comm she'd left open to the bridge. "You get all that? Prisoners are secure." She had no time to register the betrayal on the Gorr's face as she double-checked the controls and stood back, just keeping the earlier guy that had stayed on the floor in her peripheral vision.

On the bridge, Finchley the COMM link and replied “Yes, we got all that, well done. Make your way to the bridge please, we have most everything we need now.”

"On my way!" She double-checked the controls and headed out.

Turning to Jaal he then said “Set course for the Blackeagle, but take a roundabout route, no point in giving the Cardassians any idea of our destination.”

Jaal’s fingers began to dance on the console as he entered the course requested, “Aye Captain, one meandering course to our ship coming up.”

Finchley was glad that they were on their way, but something was niggling at him though. They couldn’t say that it had been an easy escape, he’d expected more security around the time ship and it be harder to get it up and running. Even now, they’d passed two sets of patrol groups, none of whom had attempted to contact them. Was he being unnecessarily over cautious?

They were now only ten minutes out from the Blackeagle, and looking at Jaal he said “Sensor report Mr Jaxom.”

Jaal knew the coordinates of the Blackeagle, but she didn’t show on sensors because she was still cloaked. They were getting close. “Blackeagle is still cloaked, I’m assuming she’s still okay. There’s nothing on our sensors so I have to say it doesn’t look like we’ve been followed unless the Cardies have some new cloaking technology of their own.”

Kell settled off to the side, listening as they closed on the area they left the ship. She watched Finchley, knowing something was up. . .

Jaal wondered what Finchley would order next. The Cardassian time ship would not fit into the Blackeagle’s landing bay and with her being cloaked, the need for communication silence was still necessary. They certainly couldn’t broadcast rendezvous coordinates with all of Cardassia III listening in… unless it was coded somehow. Now the wheels in the Trill’s brain started spinning faster.

Finchley looked round at Kell “Disus Prime protocol, find the 6-T, get them to tell you everything they know about what’s happening on Cardassia Three. If the Founder’s been there, they’ll have intel on what else is being planned for a push by the Dominion to start another war.”

Turning back to Jaal, he said “Right, this ship won’t fit into the Blackeagle’s hanger, so now that you’ve configured it so it can be flown singularly, I’ll pilot this one, you take Command of the Blackeagle and get her back to Federation space. Beam the Cardassians over with you both, and take the Commanders body with you. Both of you, get going.”

Kell nodded grimly and headed for the little brig.

“Signal me when the prisoners are ready to be beamed over,”Jaxom told Kell. He took one last look at Finchley wanting to ask if the captain was sure he wanted to go alone. Instead he followed the orders given. He signaled the Blackeagle to be beamed over. Before the transporter sequence started he offered, “Good Hunting Captain. Let us know when to come get you.”

“Thank you Lieutenant, and I will” Finchley replied, watching as Jaal disappeared in the transporter beam.

[ Cardie Holding Cells ]

Kell stopped just outside the archway into the security suite. The officer she'd knocked out earlier was ranting and raving, blaming everyone and everything, attempting to incite a riot at the first opportunity. She just shook her head and quietly slipped behind the console. The silence was immediate as she hit the slammer on the man's cell, flashing an energy pulse, knocking him to the floor.

Her gaze moved to the next cell and two mashed up, angry faces looked back at her. "Wrong answer!" She hit the panel again, the resulting flash in their cell knocking them to the floor as well.

'Maybe these Cardie engineers have their uses,' she thought, although when else would she ever use it.

Her gaze shifted to the remaining cell. Both men maintained neutral expressions, so she had made her point quite clear.

"Who can tell me about this ship?"

Initially unresponsive, one begins to shake, his anger coming slowly to the surface. "YOU'LL BURN IN THE INTENSIFIER FOR THIS INSOLENCE! WE'LL BRING YOU DOWN AND..."

Kell snapped up her weapon as the door dissolved with nary a flash. The beam streaked into the man's chest, ending his rant. She held the trigger for another moment, just to test a theory.

The other man reached down, touching two fingers to the side of his nose, then under his chin. "Alive... but he's going to feel that in a couple of days when he comes to. Cost him a few IQ points I'm sure, and that may be damning for someone like him."

Kell stowed the weapon and stepped forward. "You can call me K for now. Are you the only 6-T here?"

He shook his head. "Call me... O... There are three of us. I know one, they know one other. There was one more but she was killed, disintegrated, so she took her secrets to the beyond. But I'm the only one on this ship's crew."

Kell nodded. "We need to talk fast. I'm guessing you want to remain in place." She had no idea what possessed someone to go into such deep cover, that you're pretty much guaranteed never to return to your own life, no family, no contact, just your assignment...

He nodded. "Yes." He didn't explain beyond that but Kell didn't expect him to.

"This ship... talk to me." She said, to get the ball rolling.

He actually laughed. At her scrunched eyebrows he sobered and said, "It... doesn't... work..."

Kell had to admit she was surprised, and she didn't mask her reaction, this time. "You're kidding! I'm no engineer, but the documentation seems sound according to the others."

He shook his head. "The ship can maneuver as a starship, and the warp drives have been modified, they can do some weird things, but this is the 3rd ship built. The first one exploded shortly after engaging. The second one created a rift in space alright, very unstable, and very volatile. I was preparing for this crew when we watched it live, breaking up. They thought they'd accomplished the time rift and were actually celebrating instead of watching their ship be destroyed."

He sighed, "Now we have this upgrade. It won't work how they want, so they planned to let slip the plan to build it, then leak that it's already built, in order to create a short timeframe in order for Starfleet, or anyone else, to attempt to capture it."

Kell shook her head. "That makes no sense. Why would they want that out. Their plan was to reseed/change whole planets' races and change the course of history."

O frowned. "Now that is another matter. But the time slip, they just don't have the means to do it, yet. That's why a Founder is coming. This ship is a decoy, or actually more like bait. One faction, one that is a bit resistant to letting the Founders continue their ruling role, is hoping this ship is captured somewhere they would 'hide' it, and continue the research. Someone who would make the leap and create an actual time slip vessel, then they would steal it back. There is embedded software to self-activate and take the ship to a number of coordinates so it can be recovered and used as planned."

TBC

 

RSS Feed